Laser diodes are manufactured from laser bars that are in turn manufactured from substrates. A laser bar, also referred to as a bar of diodes, is formed by cleaving a section from a semiconductor substrate. The substrate has a number of contiguous diodes in a pattern. The laser bars are facet coated prior to separating into individual laser diodes.
Laser bars are coated by placing the bar on its edge in a coating fixture such as that disclosed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/844,455, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Various coatings may be applied to the bar's facets that effect the operation of the individual laser diodes. Regardless of the type of coating used, the laser bars can get stuck in the facet coating fixture. When this happens the laser bars must be loosened to be removed.
A facet coating fixture is comprised of multiple channels each of which hold individual bars. When the coating process is finished, the holding mechanism retracts and the bars are meant to fall through exit channels, with the assistance of a vacuum or other means. Even under these conditions the bars do not always release and some stick to one side or the other of the channel. The bars are fragile. Since the ends of a bar have no devices, the ends are the only places it can be safely handled without damaging it.
Prior art systems have failed to provide an efficient method for freeing stuck laser bars in a reliable manner.